VALLEY ROUNDUP | Van Nuys

Council OKs Station Make-Over

Putting the finishing touches on a renovated train station, the Los Angeles City Council agreed Wednesday to add 130 parking spaces at the Van Nuys Amtrak/Metrolink depot.

The station, the busiest in the San Fernando Valley, has undergone a major make-over during the past four years, blossoming from a desolate spot featuring little more than a bench into a $5.5-million station with restrooms, vending machines, a waiting room and an 800-foot train platform. It serves more than 300 passengers per day, said Helene Jacobs, a planner at the city's Department of Transportation.

But the parking lot at the bustling station can hold only 229 cars. The additional spaces, planned for a one-acre parcel on Van Nuys Boulevard north of Saticoy Street, should be completed by early 2002, Jacobs said. Caltrans has allocated $1.6 million to buy the land and build the new lot.

The station is on the Metrolink Ventura County line, which runs from Oxnard to Union Station. Amtrak uses the depot for eight trains and may eventually send the Coast Starlight, which travels from Los Angeles to Seattle, through Van Nuys.